Press release, 11.06.2016

From 6 to 10 June Galina Shirshina, Adviser to YABLOKO Chair and ex-Mayor of Petrozavodsk, was on a working visit to the Urals. She visited Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Tyumen and Yekaterinburg, met with potential candidates in single-mandate constituencies in the elections to the State Duma and discussed various issues with activists of YABLOKO’s regional offices, public and media.

Galina Shirshina’s schedule was very tight, as every day she visited a new city.

According to Shirshina, at present there are a lot of chances for YABLOKO to return to the parliament. She also thanked YABLOKO activists in the regions of behalf of YABLOKO Chair Emilia Slabunova for being very active in the regions, despite the fact that the party is not present in the Parliament.

Galina Shirshina also said that YABLOKO basic principles in the 2016 parliamentary election campaign are as follows: ideological loyalty and honesty in dealing with voters, reasonableness of each activity within the campaign, openness to new people and ideas and modernisation.

She noted that for 20 years, since its very foundation, YABLOKO had never marred its reputation, never abandoned its ideology based on the desire for personal well-being of every citizen of Russia.

“The party is willing and ready to win in the upcoming elections, but we will neither lie and nor be afraid to express our stance with a realistic assessment of what has been happening in our country today. Our goal is to prove to the voters that we are ready to implement positive changes in our country,” Shirshina said.

According to Shirshina, another important principle in the preparation of the election campaign was openness. YABLOKO encouraged experts and citizens to participate in the development of its election programme. She also noted that YABLOKO was open for non-partisan candidates. The only condition for them was to sign a Memorandum of the Political Alternative, which reflected the ideology of the party.